DocS
Guru
I wasn't planning on riding this organized ride, but after some coxing by some of my riding buddies, I decided to ride the Metric Century, since I have already planned to do the MS Ride to the River event the 1st weekend of October.
It started out very humid and somewhat foggy.
I met some of my riding buddies and got a picture, just before the ride commencement.
As we were taking off, I couldn't get my left foot to clip in! I rode on for about 2 miles, then decided to stop to see what was going on...
I had to move the cleat on my shoe and was finally able to clip in. In the process, I was left at the back of the 100k riding group. I couldn't see anyone up ahead, so I took off and proceeded to catch up. I guess in the excitement, I just kept going...
Moving up to the front of the group in spite of all the hills (there were a lot of'em)...
I was surprised that the first 20 miles left my tank pretty low, especially since I've been riding 3-4 days during the week, mixing 20, 30 and 40 mile rides during the week and 60 to 70 mile rides on Saturdays...
Our first rest stop was the Sutherland Springs Baptist Church (yes, where a whole bunch of lives were lost and altered at the hands of a deranged individual). I should have rested a bit more, but just stopped for a couple minutes, ate some Jerkey and a handful of trail mix (nuts, raisins and M&Ms), hopped back on my bike and took off.
The sun stared making it's presence known and clouds started looking ominous, threatening rain. I blew past the 2nd rest stop and continued to have problems with my cleat engaging and staying engaged...
At the 3rd rest stop, I pulled my shoe off and saw that it needed to be moved back and tightened. All seemed well. I was a bit tired, but okay.
I've been on a low carbohydrate (Keto) diet since about March. I've lost a little over 80lbs since then and am absolutely not used to having carbs/sugars. In attempt to "fill the tank" a bit, I decided to drink gatorade and eat some orange wedges...
A few miles down the road, the nausea started, followed by cramps in my right thigh...
The cramps were so bad that I un-clipped my right foot and pedaled with my left for about a couple miles (thankfully, they were flat!).
I tried sips of cold water and that helped with my nausea. I had a packet of Pickle Juice and drank it... Eventually the leg cramps subsided and I clipped back in...
About 5 miles before the last rest stop, I felt gassed...
I decided to take a short break under a tree, when I couldn't control the nausea any longer and emptied my stomach (look away) ...
At that point, I think I had about 20 miles or so left and thought about calling the SAG to pick me up, but realized that I immediately felt better...
I cleaned myself up a bit and headed back out. The last rest stop was about 5 miles away. I seemed to be more energetic and the nausea and cramps were gone.
I took a break at the last rest stop and chatted with a few of the volunteers. All of them kept wondering about my bike. What the advantages were, etc...
One of the guys I spoke with is a Bicycle Shop Owner. He said he saw me kicking but earlier, passing up road bikes going up some hills. He asked if I could stop in sometime and let him ride my bike. He even offered to let me try his 4 wheel recumbent. He gave me his card and said he seriously wanted to try it. He even took a picture of my bike before I left!
After the break, I headed out for the last 15 or so miles...
I saw a lot of people stop, falling out. The SAG vehicle was busy...
The last place I saw the SAG pick a rider up was about .5 miles from the finish!!!
I was pretty wiped out when I got there, so I just loaded my bike up and went home for a shower.
I've been riding between 20 and 40 miles per day during the week (usually 4 days) and between 65 and 70 miles on Saturday's.
I've learned a few things on this ride...
I wasn't as prepared as well as I thought I was for the hills and wind.
After I encountered problems at the start, I took off like a jackrabbit and should have conserved some of my energy.
If I'm not used to consuming carbs (to that quantity), during a ride IS NOT the time to start!!! I'm gonna stick with what I know works for me during the MS ride.
I did see a few trikes, Catrike 700s, a Catrike 559, a Barron Low Racer and a Bacchetta Corsa 700c.
Great training ride in preparation for the MS Ride to the River in 2 weeks!
Blessings,
DocS
It started out very humid and somewhat foggy.
I met some of my riding buddies and got a picture, just before the ride commencement.
As we were taking off, I couldn't get my left foot to clip in! I rode on for about 2 miles, then decided to stop to see what was going on...
I had to move the cleat on my shoe and was finally able to clip in. In the process, I was left at the back of the 100k riding group. I couldn't see anyone up ahead, so I took off and proceeded to catch up. I guess in the excitement, I just kept going...
Moving up to the front of the group in spite of all the hills (there were a lot of'em)...
I was surprised that the first 20 miles left my tank pretty low, especially since I've been riding 3-4 days during the week, mixing 20, 30 and 40 mile rides during the week and 60 to 70 mile rides on Saturdays...
Our first rest stop was the Sutherland Springs Baptist Church (yes, where a whole bunch of lives were lost and altered at the hands of a deranged individual). I should have rested a bit more, but just stopped for a couple minutes, ate some Jerkey and a handful of trail mix (nuts, raisins and M&Ms), hopped back on my bike and took off.
The sun stared making it's presence known and clouds started looking ominous, threatening rain. I blew past the 2nd rest stop and continued to have problems with my cleat engaging and staying engaged...
At the 3rd rest stop, I pulled my shoe off and saw that it needed to be moved back and tightened. All seemed well. I was a bit tired, but okay.
I've been on a low carbohydrate (Keto) diet since about March. I've lost a little over 80lbs since then and am absolutely not used to having carbs/sugars. In attempt to "fill the tank" a bit, I decided to drink gatorade and eat some orange wedges...
A few miles down the road, the nausea started, followed by cramps in my right thigh...
The cramps were so bad that I un-clipped my right foot and pedaled with my left for about a couple miles (thankfully, they were flat!).
I tried sips of cold water and that helped with my nausea. I had a packet of Pickle Juice and drank it... Eventually the leg cramps subsided and I clipped back in...
About 5 miles before the last rest stop, I felt gassed...
I decided to take a short break under a tree, when I couldn't control the nausea any longer and emptied my stomach (look away) ...
At that point, I think I had about 20 miles or so left and thought about calling the SAG to pick me up, but realized that I immediately felt better...
I cleaned myself up a bit and headed back out. The last rest stop was about 5 miles away. I seemed to be more energetic and the nausea and cramps were gone.
I took a break at the last rest stop and chatted with a few of the volunteers. All of them kept wondering about my bike. What the advantages were, etc...
One of the guys I spoke with is a Bicycle Shop Owner. He said he saw me kicking but earlier, passing up road bikes going up some hills. He asked if I could stop in sometime and let him ride my bike. He even offered to let me try his 4 wheel recumbent. He gave me his card and said he seriously wanted to try it. He even took a picture of my bike before I left!
After the break, I headed out for the last 15 or so miles...
I saw a lot of people stop, falling out. The SAG vehicle was busy...
The last place I saw the SAG pick a rider up was about .5 miles from the finish!!!
I was pretty wiped out when I got there, so I just loaded my bike up and went home for a shower.
I've been riding between 20 and 40 miles per day during the week (usually 4 days) and between 65 and 70 miles on Saturday's.
I've learned a few things on this ride...
I wasn't as prepared as well as I thought I was for the hills and wind.
After I encountered problems at the start, I took off like a jackrabbit and should have conserved some of my energy.
If I'm not used to consuming carbs (to that quantity), during a ride IS NOT the time to start!!! I'm gonna stick with what I know works for me during the MS ride.
I did see a few trikes, Catrike 700s, a Catrike 559, a Barron Low Racer and a Bacchetta Corsa 700c.
Great training ride in preparation for the MS Ride to the River in 2 weeks!
Blessings,
DocS
